PPG Industries will introduce Optigray glass, an ultra-neutral, warm-light-gray glass, during GlassBuild America, the Glass, Window and Door Expo, Sept. 9-11 at the Las Vegas Convention Centre. PPG also will highlight the new Solarban z75 glass while continuing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Solarban glass.

Optigray glass is designed to maximise light transmittance and clarity, and to work with Solarban-coated solar control, low-emissivity glasses to enhance solar performance. The light-gray tint in Optigray glass eliminates the green naturally present in conventional clear glass formulations, producing a highly-transparent, super-neutral aesthetic that can actually show less colour than clear glass.

The gold-anniversary celebration of Solarban glass will continue as well, with PPG featuring a retrospective of architecturally-significant buildings constructed with Solarban glass, such as its first installation on the Mutual of Omaha Regional Office Building in Miami. Now known as Colonnade Plaza, the eight-story building designed by Twin Towers architect Minoru Yamasaki features 9-foot-tall floor-to-ceiling windows. Advances in glass-coating technology associated with the Solarban brand from 1964 through today will be highlighted.

Solarban z75 glass, the newest addition to the Solarban product line in North America, will be on display. With a neutral cool-gray tint and low reflectivity, Solarban z75 glass looks similar to Solarban z50 glass but is equipped with better solar control performance, giving architects another choice for neutral cool-gray glass that is optimised for their local climate and building codes.

PPG also will display Starphire ultra-clear glass. Available in thicknesses of 3 to 12 mm, Starphire glass is now manufactured using oxy-fuel furnace technology at PPG’s float glass plant in Fresno, California, in addition to the plant in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Starphire glass is ideal for architectural and interior design applications.